Gislina Patterson’s “i am your spaniel”: how “stale memories” became the one-of-a-kind drag performance Shakespeare lecture

i am your spaniel is not your typical Shakespeare lecture. 

In it, playwright and performer Gislina Patterson plays a female scholar who is loosely based on the talented performer themself – if they had never transitioned, that is. 

The show is a drag performance lecture, in which their character closely analyzes A Midsummer Night’s Dream, leading to a series of unforeseen events that culminate in their transformation into . .  a dog! 

In this riveting and thought-provoking journey, directed by Dasha Plett, Shakespeare’s talent meets Gislina Patterson’s brilliance, blurring the lines between art and reality. Of course, Patterson is no stranger to Shakespeare’s work. Their connection with the playwright began the year they were born, when their parents helped create the organization Shakespeare in the Ruins. Patterson’s childhood was spent watching the company’s rehearsals and falling under the spell of the performing arts. For Patterson, a large part of this project is exploring “what it means to work in a field you sort of grew up in” – and how to establish boundaries with people you have long personal histories with. For while working with your close friends may appear to be an exciting opportunity, it comes with its fair share of challenges. 

Originally, the performance was formatted like a high school book report on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Patterson had not read the play in some time when they first wrote it, and so was relying on “slightly stale memories” to develop this intuitive adaptation. But as they delved deeper into the writing process, they pivoted to conducting a meticulous First Folio text analysis of Shakespeare’s play. This involved analyzing the most minute of details, such as spelling variations and capitalization choices, in order to tease out possible new meanings. 

With this in-depth analysis complete, they embarked on intensive research that further enriched their understanding of the play’s nuances and historical context. “The last 2 years of the project was a huge amount of research on the economic and social conditions of the time,” explains Patterson. To their great surprise, they discovered that present-day concerns, such as climate challenges and food staple price inflation, were also prevalent during Shakespeare’s time. To gather still more information about the time period, Patterson scoured the Internet Archive, delving into historical papers written by historians. Their ultimate goal is to create a bridge between the past and the present, in order to transport audiences to the vibrant world of Shakespeare. By weaving authentic historical context and cultural nuances into their performance, Patterson hopes to offer a window into the societal backdrop in which Shakespeare’s masterpieces were born.

While Shakespeare’s original text tackles a wide variety of themes, Patterson chose to centre i am your spaniel around the idea of family structure. The play explores the concept of the archetypal western family and who benefits from its intricate dynamics. Patterson hopes that their performance provokes broader discussion of this idea, and inspires audience members to evaluate what life was truly like during Shakespeare’s time. 

When asked if the performance hits close to home, Patterson nods their head in agreement. “It’s definitely sort of a complicated exercise,” they explain, “playing with this version of myself that’s very close to me, but also sort of different”. Patterson was excited to delve into who they could have been and the various paths their life could have taken. Yet they found it emotionally challenging to envision a version of themselves where they weren’t living authentically. So writing about this different life trajectory required a profound sense of vulnerability, which was tough at times.

But a funny thing happened on the way through this complex journey. Patterson often finds that they write with a serious intent . . . only to discover, as a performer, that the material is surprisingly funny. This proved true once again. When they stepped into the shoes of the character, many of the play’s darker themes began to intermingle with moments of comedic brilliance. Sure enough, they found that this alternate self used the power of laughter to share their narrative with the world. 

Patterson hopes that i am your spaniel encourages other playwrights interested in Shakespeare’s work to venture beyond the conventional. “What I really want to inspire is a direct – and in some ways local – interrogation of what actually happens in Shakespeare plays,” they explain. They aspire to push the boundaries of traditional Shakespeare adaptations by delving deep into the motivations behind and beneath the events depicted within these timeless works. And Patterson hopes that audience members leave the theatre with a sense of empowerment and a renewed curiosity to engage with Shakespeare’s work. 

In each spectator, they aspire to spark a newfound appreciation for Shakespeare’s timeless stories and to prompt a personal and individual journey of interpretation. 

You can experience the Bard anew through Patterson’s extraordinary drag performance lecture until August 13 at the SummerWorks Performance Festival. To reserve tickets and further information, including content warnings, visit summerworks.ca.

© Denise Albeanu, Sesayarts Magazine, 2023